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Blog

Co-Lab Studio Summer Upgrades

By George Breeden // July 1, 2025

Things are heating up in the Innovation Co-Lab Studios over the summer! We are busy working on upgrades and improvements to make our makerspaces more exciting then ever!

New Lasers:

xTool F1 Ultra

We are getting two new lasers from xTool, that will be perfect for smaller laser jobs and detailed engraving.

  • xTool F1 Ultra
  • xTool F1 Lite
Image of a coin being laser engraved

These lasers will also expand the Co-Lab's metal marking capabilities, including the ability to do deep engravings. We are excited to see all the awesome things that the community makes on these new machines. Bespoke buttons, challenge coins, dog tags, the One Piece, the options are endless!

New Drill Press:

Image of a Laguna DP20 Drill Press

We are retiring our old Jet Drill/Mill Combo, and replacing it with a state of the art Laguna DP:20 drill press. Tooling and technology meet in the large touch screen that helps to ensure smooth drilling operations through different materials. It does not run DOOM on the screen, but we are excited anyway.    

 NEW 3D PRINTERS!

Dark Mode Gif

The Co-Lab is switching to dark mode and replacing our whole fleet of 75 Ultimaker S3 3D printers with new Prusa CORE Ones. We are very excited about this massive upgrade. It is a giant leap forward in technology and will allow the Duke community to print faster and higher quality prints. Users will be able to access these new printers using the same 3DPrinterOS system beginning in the Fall semester. More news will follow on this exciting upgrade, but first we need to get them all set up and plugged in.

Prusa Core One Banner

While we are setting up the new printers, there may be some interruption in 3D printing services, especially in the second half of July. Any interruptions will be announced on the main page of the Innovation Co-Lab website and over our newsletter. We ask that folks bear with us and pardon our dust as we work on the printers and other upgrades.

We have some more projects and changes in the works at the different Studio spaces, but to find out about those, you will have to come by and visit at the beginning of the Fall!